SUPPLY CHAIN ARTICLES

  • The RNA Therapeutics Supply Chain: A Platform of Relationships

    Conversations digging into RNA-specific sourcing considerations have been few and far between. Enter Sanofi's Greg Troiano. Together, we delved into the nuances, challenges, and opportunities for growth that currently exist within the mRNA drug substance and drug product (i.e., mRNA-LNP) raw material sourcing worlds.

  • mRNA Vaccines: Key Considerations For Development & Manufacturing

    As we wind down National Immunization Awareness Month, this article looks at the complexities around developing and manufacturing mRNA vaccines and how you should address those complexities. Topics include delivery, process validation, long-term effectiveness, GMP, regulatory approval, and more. 

  • Picasso, Pick-Up Lines, & Personalized Medicine: mRNA's Path Forward

    Overall, my presentation on what the mRNA industry can learn from the artist Picasso singled out a few specific areas from which I felt our industry could garner greater inspiration and operational prowess. But given how “collaborative” many of these sources of inspiration are, I’ve introduced each of my takeaways with a surprisingly relevant (albeit bad) art-themed pick-up line. After all, if there’s one sector that knows it takes more than one to “tango,” it’s the mRNA industry.

  • What Violin Making Can Teach Us About mRNA Therapeutic Quality

    Managing the mRNA supply chain and working in mRNA process development may not look anything like the work a luthier does to hew an instrument from an ancient spruce tree. But violin craftmanship actually serves as a fantastic metaphor for the challenging work the mRNA therapeutics space is tackling in sourcing and qualifying raw materials and optimizing the critical IVT reaction.

  • “Holy T7 Polymerase, Batman!”: R&D Considerations For More Awe-Inspiring xRNA

    It goes without saying we have some pretty ambitious therapeutic goals for linear mRNA and next-gen saRNA and circRNA. However, as my conversation with Koeris explored, we still have a lot of scientific and technical work/innovation ahead of us to make our RNA products “stronger” (in more ways than one).

  • ARW's ATMP Manufacturing Must-Reads (ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION!)

    Day-in and day-out, I write, read, listen to, and watch as much content as I can about CGT and RNA therapy manufacturing, in particular, and/or other ATMP industry-related topics that you should at least be aware of in the manufacturing facility. Once a month, I compile the articles and industry updates I think are most worthy of your time into an unconventional roundup article.

SUPPLY CHAIN VIDEOS

Explore the broad benefits and challenges that could be encounter by working with self-amplifying and circular RNA modalities — particularly in terms of manufacturing, raw material supply, COGS, and patient centricity.

In this Advancing RNA Live segment, several speakers raise concerns about the industry's ability to accurately measure impurities, particularly dsRNA, arguing that current analytics are insufficient, especially for high-dose therapeutics.

While we can make lots of mRNA at a smaller scale, when it comes to scaling up to kg quantities of mRNA, our current batch processes leave a lot to be desired. Together, Stu Sundseth of Tune Therapeutics and Christian Dohmen of Ethris unpack the biggest barriers to scaling IVT to achieve the desired yield and quality of mRNA, offering their take on how the field is innovating to overcome these issues. 

In response to an audience poll question gauging which cGMP materials have proven the most difficult to source, our speakers provide additional clarity around which IVT & LNP-related materials today are more “commoditized”.

ARTICLES, APP NOTES, CASE STUDIES, & WHITE PAPERS